The low employment rate of Indigenous Australians contributes to economic deprivation and a range of social problems. Increasing employment rates is key to reducing Indigenous disadvantage (e.g., COAG 2009). Employment is central to the Closing the Gap targets that directly refer to engagement with the mainstream economy. Paid employment can provide the economic independence and...

This paper was presented as a lecture in the Senate Occasional Lecture Series at Parliament House, Canberra, on 5 August 2011. The address examines what might be the recipe for a successful referendum on constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Mick Dodson also discusses ways we might mix the ingredients of that...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are highly over-represented in out of home care statistics. Around half of these children are in kinship care, a family arrangement that for Aboriginal people sits uncomfortably with the concept of ‘out of home care.’ Despite the number of children in Aboriginal kinship care, there is little published research...

The Prime Minister reports annually on progress in Closing the Gap. This is the fourth annual report, tabled in Parliament on 15 February 2012. According to the report: "This Closing the Gap report shows that the foundations for overcoming Indigenous disadvantage are now in place. It demonstrates how governments are delivering investments that will make...

This paper presents the definitions to be used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the purpose of collecting and disseminating statistics on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned businesses (limited to small-tomedium sized, privately owned businesses). The definitions are intended to be used in the context of measuring economic participation and development in...